City of Quebec from the Harbor: A Vibrant 19th-Century Maritime Lithograph

City of Quebec, Taken from the Harbor, an original hand-colored lithograph drawn by R. S. M. Bouchette and printed by Day and Haghe, lithographers to the King, at 17 Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. The title is lettered below the image, with the artist's credit at the lower left and the printer's line at the lower right.

The view looks toward the city from the water on a blustery day. A rowing boat with a crew of men in the foreground rides a choppy swell, small sailing vessels with red and white sails cross the harbor, and a crowd of larger ships lies at anchor along the shore on either side. Behind them the pale cliff of Cape Diamond rises to the walls and skyline of the upper town, and the church spires and the fortifications on the heights stand against a heavy gray sky of broken cloud.

Quebec, on its rock above the St. Lawrence, was the chief port and fortress of British North America in the early nineteenth century. The view shows the harbor from the river, the way it was met by every ship that arrived from Europe.